The 3rd Prince of the Fallen Kingdom Returns

Chapter 14. Salvation (2)

Yuri rode swiftly along with ten knights, including Raymond. Among them were Laurent and Jared. Yuri glanced back with a wry smile.

“Looks like everyone’s still half asleep.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Are you used to the speed?”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Thanks to the magic Hernando had cast, the horses moved much faster than usual.

“Jared doesn’t look so well.”

“I, I’m fine.”

Although Jared, who had drunk a lot, didn’t look good, the rest appeared fine. Suddenly, Laurent moved forward to ride alongside Yuri, seemingly having something to say.

“Your Highness.”

“Laurent.”

“I’m once again moved by you, Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

Yuri gazed at him.

“Not only did you forgive those who insulted you, but you’re also extending a hand of salvation so personally…”

Laurent’s eyes sparkled, seeming to misunderstand something.

“I realized there’s no need to become a petty person. You shattered my short-sighted thought of simply trying to subdue them.”

“It’s not really like that…”

Although his blind faith was one thing, the mention of subduing bothered Yuri.

“You said ‘subdue’…?”

“It was…”

Laurent hesitated and then spoke up.

“I was planning to act drunk and pick a fight with the Holy Knights. That was my foolish thought.”

Yuri stared at him incredulously. The Laurent he knew didn’t seem like this.

Under Yuri’s gaze, Laurent scratched the back of his head bashfully.

“I know it’s wrong, but I couldn’t stand the insult to you, Your Highness.”

“Right…”

Winning Laurent’s loyalty was good, but it was a bit overwhelming. Still, Yuri couldn’t leave such loyal knights unpraised.

“Thank you sincerely for your dedication…”

“Thank you for acknowledging it, Your Highness.”

Laurent smiled brightly.

Looking at his pale face, Yuri felt a strange sensation. The Laurent, who had beheaded him in the past life, and the pure-hearted young Laurent now seemed impossibly disconnected.

Perhaps it was natural.

He had changed, so it’s not surprising that others wouldn’t resemble their past selves either.

Humans take entirely different paths depending on their given circumstances. Laurent’s distortion was none other than Yuri’s own fault.

This time, he would never repeat such a future.

“Laurent.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Let’s do well.”

“Pardon?”

Laurent’s eyes widened, and then he nodded vigorously.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Yuri chuckled lightly and looked ahead.

In the distance, the silhouettes of Sibylla and the Holy Knights charging across the horizon became visible.

“There they are!”

Raymond remained composed, while Jared retched from the saddle, and the others were brimming with anxiety.

Yuri opened his mouth to speak.

“This is your first battle against the orcs.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on him.

Yuri wanted to offer some advice. However, there was nothing particular to say.

A battle could not be taught with words.

This chapter is translated by f.enrirxlations/jjoestar

So instead of advice, he conveyed a request.

“Don’t get hurt.”

It was a heartfelt plea.

They all nodded in acknowledgment.

Yuri picked up speed.

“Your Highness, we should take the lead. Please fall back.”

Other knights agreed with Raymond’s suggestion.

Though Yuri had displayed unprecedented prowess before, he had never engaged in a real fight, so his capability was still uncertain.

How strong could an eighteen-year-old prince truly be?

Moreover, Yuri was the Commander of the Briol troops.

The safety of the commanding officer was the top priority on the battlefield.

“No.”

But Yuri shook his head.

“I’ll explain since it’s the first battle. It will be the same in the future.”

Yuri recalled his mercenary days and smiled slightly.

They were different from knights.

There was no rank, no hierarchy.

The only thing that earned you the respect of comrades was pure skill and devotion.

Only those who stood at the forefront against the enemy could become the leader.

“I’m the first to enter and the last to leave the battlefield.”

“What?”

Yuri spurred his horse.

His resolve firm, he activated the ‘Heart and Soul Slash.’ Mana flowed through to the horse, and its speed increased dramatically.

No one could catch him.

An ethereal white mana aura emerged from Yuri’s body like a mirage.

The legacy of Erich Briol was finally revealing itself on the battlefield.

“Your Highness!”

Though the knights called after him, Yuri did not stop.

“Whoosh.”

In the distance, Sibylla and the Holy Knights collectively toppled over.

Those not yet experienced with orcs tended to underestimate their cunning tactics.

“That must’ve hurt.”

As Yuri muttered, he noticed an orc approaching with a torch.

A fire attack.

Yuri smirked.

There was no time to think.

Mana coursed through his body.

Feeling his determination, his horse pushed its muscles to leap forward.

Yuri’s form wavered.

Simultaneously he leaped from the saddle, beheaded the oncoming orc, and snatched its torch.

It was a narrowly avoided disaster.

Fortunately, the leader of the Holy Kingdom’s forces was not incinerated.

“Phew…”

He looked below.

Sibylla was gritting her teeth with her eyes squeezed shut.

Yuri’s lips curled into a smile.

“Sibylla.”

Some faces were twisted in terror, mouths agape, while others were on the verge of tears. In a corner, he spotted a pale-faced scenic figure.

“Open your eyes.”

As they gradually comprehended the situation, their faces transformed continuously, and a laugh welled up in him.

Though he tried to suppress it, it wasn’t easy.

In the end, Yuri burst out laughing.

“What a sight.”

* * *

The main force of the Holy Kingdom’s troops was skillfully fending off the orcs’ offensive.

The soldiers maintained a solid formation, and the few Holy Knights who had remained in the camp dealt with the emergent orcs.

The orc unit began retreating before enduring further losses.

Observing this scene, Yuri muttered to himself.

“They’re clever creatures.”

At times, orcs outwitted humans in the tactics they used on the battlefield.

Their target was never the main contingent of the Holy Kingdom to begin with.

Having confirmed Sibylla and the Holy Knights were isolated, they aimed for the moment of their regrouping.

It was possible that the Briol forces had been under observation too.

News of the Allied Forces seemed to have reached the orcs.

“How did they acquire this information…?”

From afar, Yuri spotted an orc watching the battle.

It was missing one eye and carried a flag on its back.

“An Orkbal.”

It was a high-ranking faction among the orcs.

Suddenly, their gazes met.

The Orkbal locked eyes with Yuri and bared its tusks in a grin.

Yuri mumbled.

“Typically, when someone smiles, it’s polite to smile back, but seeing that face doesn’t really do it for me.”

The Orkbal yelled something. The orcs began their retreat at a quicker pace.

The soldiers hesitated.

“What are you doing!”

Yuri shouted back.

“Don’t let them go!”

“Yes!”

“Hit their backs!”

The Briol Knights clung to the orc unit’s rear.

Laurent boldly swung his sword. An orc’s arm flew through the air. The other knights weren’t idle, either.

The icy aura of Briol’s knights swept the area.

The morale of the Holy Kingdom’s troops was bolstered.

The soldiers pushed back against the orcs with renewed vigor. Weapons pierced the backs of retreating orcs.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yuri.”

Sibylla and the Holy Knights were just crawling out of a pit.

Sibylla sighed as she watched the orcs flee. In truth, they hadn’t proven to be of much help.

“We owe you, truly. Thank you.”

She formally expressed her gratitude to Yuri.

“If not for you, we would all have perished.”

Although Fenec looked dissatisfied, seeing the bowing Sibylla, he reluctantly followed suit.

“We thank the Third Prince of Briol.”

The entire Holy Knights echoed Fenec’s words, bowing to Yuri.

Yuri waved them off.

“Why all this? Allies help each other on the battlefield.”

He helped Sibylla up and approached Fenec, patting him on the shoulder.

“The next time Briol is in danger, the Holy Kingdom should help us. Isn’t that fair?”

Fenec seemed unsure of his expression.

Yuri grinned at him.

Though arrogant, Fenec was still a valuable asset. He didn’t want to judge him based on a single altercation.

After all, how was he himself in his past life?

This chapter is translated by f.enrirxlations/jjoestar

Yuri saw in Fenec a reflection of his former self.

He had been equally lacking, unaware of so much when young.

“Right?”

In response to Yuri’s words, Fenec nodded.

“Yes.”

He looked Yuri straight in the eyes and spoke.

“I formally apologize for the rudeness I committed earlier today. I shan’t forget your assistance today. Thank you once again.”

“Thank you!”

The Holy Knights echoed Fenec’s words.

“Got it. I accept.”

Yuri didn’t think Fenec was twisted at heart. Otherwise, the Holy Knights wouldn’t follow him so unanimously.

Though he felt sorry for Sibylla, their true leader was Fenec.

“By the way…”

As Yuri spoke, he instinctively turned and swung Guilty.

An arrow, knocked aside by his blade, embedded itself in the ground.

Fenec stared, astonished at his reflexes.

“A-are you alright?”

“Don’t worry.”

Yuri scanned for the culprit.

Among the retreating orcs, the Orkbal was taunting him with its bow.

It was a deliberate provocation.

“Must have stung.”

The Orkbal was certainly mad at Yuri for foiling its strategy concerning the Holy Knights.

Yuri chuckled.

Nothing quite compares to provoking an angry opponent.

Indeed, it’s been so long since he’s returned to the battlefield.

Slaying just one orc wasn’t nearly satisfying.

Having been provoked by the Orkbal, he might as well surpass expectations today.

“I’m off.”

“Yes?”

Mana surged from his core.

As his resolve sharpened into a killing edge, the powerful current coursed through his blood vessels.

Yuri made up his mind.

He would close the distance between himself and the orc unit at once.

With the rising mental image, his body utilized mana as propulsion, choosing the most effective path forward.

He immediately comprehended the elevation changes of the terrain and stepped precisely.

His form flashed several times, and he reached the rear of the retreating orc unit in no time.

Yuri swung Guilty.

An orc in the rear, unaware of Yuri’s approach, was split in two.

Two other orcs swung axes at him. Opting not to confront them head-on, Yuri sidestepped.

He intended to exploit the gap after their attack, but more weapons targeted him in succession.

After rolling along the ground, he raised his head.

Looming above him, shadows of the orc horde encircled him.

Being surrounded by so many large orcs felt like being trapped between walls.

Hideous faces grinned down at him, baring teeth.

Yuri did not panic.

Instead, it was a familiar scene.

He grasped Guilty skillfully.

After the fall of Briol, he became a mercenary, living countless life-threatening moments. He was always hurled into the heart of enemy lines.

He had wanted to die, but couldn’t.

His senses sharpened most precisely on the brink of death.

Simultaneously, he perceived all their movements.

One stepped forward, another pulled back its shoulder, one roared, and one thrust a spear.

He intuited the singular path to evade all the attacks simultaneously.

As the mental image became vivid, the mana powering the Heart and Soul Slash drove the blade forward.

Attacks crisscrossed.

Two orcs spurted blood and collapsed, as Yuri slipped through them to take the advantageous position behind.

Yuri’s follow-up attack arrived faster than the orcs could turn.

He slashed their backs and flanks.

The delayed assaults failed to reach him. A number of orcs collapsed around him simultaneously.

Though their hide was tough and resisted death’s instant grip, it didn’t matter.

The orcs abandoned their wounded comrades—leaving them behind to distract the enemy while they fled faster.

Yuri picked up a spear dropped by one orc. Stepping onto its back, he vaulted high into the air while locating his target.

“Orkbal!”

Orkbal was a common designation across languages, a unique name known instinctively.

The Orkbal with its flag turned its gaze back.

Yuri hurled the spear with all his might.

The Orkbal’s eyes widened.

It immediately crouched low, planted its feet firmly into the ground, and defended its front with a double-headed axe.

Its tense stance looked almost comical.

Thud.

The spear flew over the Orkbal’s head.

Its flag crumpled.

It was so busy preparing for impact that it couldn’t react.

The Orkbal’s face twisted in fury.

“Seems like you got the jitters.”